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Netflix Stream Instantly coming to PS3

The Xbox 360 has had it for just about a year now but it seems that Sony and Netflix have finally inked a deal to bring Stream Instantly to the PS3, too.

Netflix says they will launch the service next month and will be free for subscribers to download and begin streaming some of their 17,000+ movies and TV shows instantly. This is good news for the company as well as us as it brings the service to millions of new potential customers.

We’ll keep you posted as the service’s launch date grows closer.

via yahoo

Netflix wants to be on all consoles

While Netflix is currently exclusive on the Xbox 360, the massive video rental and streaming service wants to be on the PS3 and Wii as well. CEO Reed Hastings told Reuters, “Eventually we want to be on all the game consoles, all the Blu-ray players, all the Internet TVs. So we are working in parallel with all of those efforts. Currently our Xbox deal is exclusive and we haven’t characterized it more than that.”

Netflix currently has a contract with Microsoft prohibiting them on offering the service to competing consoles, but that will most likely change as soon as the contract runs out.

Netflix job posting points to console expansion

A recent job listing over at Neftlix discovered by Gamaustra details the need for an Engineering Leader for Gaming Platforms. The listing states that all who apply should,  ”expect to help build a small technology team to rapidly prototype and iterate on a variety of platforms.”

A variety of platforms, huh? Well, we saw the expansion of Netflix streaming to the Xbox 360 some time ago so who is to say that the Playstation 3, or even the Wii, couldn’t get the same treatment?

Rumors have been floating around that Netflix would be expanding it’s console streaming service to consoles other than the Xbox 360 for some time now. So, it only makes sense that this job listing would point to those rumors and give them a thumbs up.

But wait, maybe they are looking to take on services like OnLive and stream games right to the consoles? We can dream can’t we?

Read (Gamasutra)

Survey Suggests Netflix May Be Wii-bound

In an increasingly wired society console companies are realizing that it’s not enough to offer great games. Microsoft scored a big victory by getting a partnership with Netflix, allowing subscribers to stream many of their favorite films and TV shows. There are several methods to stream shows but thus far the Xbox 360 is the only gaming platform that allows you to do so.

A recent Netflix survey suggests that all this may be about to change. It asks users what their thoughts would be regarding a similar option for the Wii. The survey also hints that such an option would be possible by a one-time purchase of a disc that would have to be put into the Wii any time an owner wanted to watch something. This would have the low price of $2.99 and would ultimately prove cheaper than the Xbox option since you wouldn’t have to pay the subscription fees for an Xbox Live gold membership.

Of course such a survey is far from a guarantee that the service will be made available and even if it is, there’s no telling when it’ll be available.

Xbox Live Proving Excellent Resource For Netflix

Probably the only part of the NXE that was universally enjoyed was the possibility of streaming Netflix films from your queue for anyone with an Xbox Live Arcade Gold membership. Since the service launched in November people have been flocking to the flat-rate video rental service.

Redbush analyst Michael Pachter estimates that over eight million people are currently connecting to Xbox Live and figures that many of them are simply a few mouse clicks away from subscribing to Netflix. He places the number of Xbox subscribers who have signed up for Netflix at over 200,000 in the three months since the service launched and he expects another million to sign up in the next year, given the high install base and further expected sales for the console and Microsoft’s strong support of Xbox Live.

Sony Movies Now Available on Netflix

Keeping from customers complaining about the lack of Sony movies on Netflix for Xbox 360, select films from Sony subsidiary Columbia Pictures are now viewable through the streaming service on Microsoft’s white box.

“Almost everything, from Ghostbusters to The Karate Kid in your Netflix Instant Queue can now be streamed to the 360,” reads a report from Joystiq. However, some major movies such as Spider-Man 3 and Superbad still aren’t available.

Netflix initially pegged the lack of Sony movies as a “license issue” but later claimed on its blog that it was “not necessarily a license issue,” but wouldn’t care to elaborate on that statement.

Netflix Adds More for Anxious Xbox 360 Subscribers

Netflix has announced that it has “significantly” expanded the number of films and television shows that Xbox 360 subscribers will be able to stream to their console this Fall.

Through an agreement with Starz, Netflix will add about 2500 movies, among other things, along with a live feed of the Starz TV network, to its library of streaming media. The first 1000 additions are already live for PC subscribers.

Some of the films under this deal include Spider-Man 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Superbad, No Country for Old Men and more. Xbox 360 owners will be able to join the Netflix party later this Fall when Microsoft releases the fall software update, which will also add avatars and give the console a whole new UI.